CSN Stores Review

 I have been asked to review a product by CSN stores. How will I ever choose? With over 200 stores and millions of products, it will be hard to decide. Do I want something for the kitchen like this grill pan from le creuset  or baskets for the laundry room? How about a new vanity light in the bathroom? Or would I prefer to review a lovely sheet set? With CSN stores the possibilities are endless. When I make up my mind I will let you know!!

A recipe for you

This what we had for Dinner last night. It is one of our favorites, so, I thought you would enjoy it too. It's a great meal on a hot summer night.

The Best Roast Beef Sandwiches

Marinade:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 teasp dijon mustard

2 teasp dried parsley

Sandwich:

1 pound deli style roast beef ( I get mine at Costco it's a better price)

3 avacados sliced

1 small red onion thinly sliced

1 loaf focaccia bread or individual ciabatta breads

Combine marinade ingredients and place in a covered pan or ziplock bag. Add beef, avocados and onion. Refrigerate overnight. (I just make in the morning and eat later that day)

When ready to assemble sandwich, slice focaccia horizontally in half, brush focaccia or ciabatta bread lightly with oil and bake at 375 for 12 to 15 min or until lightly browned.  Remove beef, avocados and onions from marinade and arrange on top of the bottom half of focaccia. Top with other half of focaccia. Slice into wedges Enjoy!
Also great with  cheese and fresh tomatoes as a variation

Great served with chips or fresh fruit in season

I am linking this to: Tempt my tummy tuesday and Foodie Friday

Metal Art

Happy Monday! I am off this week to take care of my grandbaby Ezra again but wanted to leave a post for you.  have a great week!

Metal art work or Wall Grills as they are often called, is very big in the world of decorating. Metal art work is great because it is "colorless" so it works in almost any setting. It is a great way to incorporate art without trying to make it match other things in the room. It can give a wall a light airy feel or depending on the piece give it a weightier feel and help anchor the room. Using metal to decorate with can be a good investment. You can change the color scheme of the room and the piece will still match. It can also be moved from one room to the next to refresh a room. This is especially great if you like to change things often. It is important to remember when hanging it, to place it in an area that is proportionate to the size of the piece. A common mistake is placing a piece that is too little above a sofa or piece that is too big on a small wall. Invest in a piece today. You'll be surprised by the versatility of it. If you need help choosing a piece or help with placement, I am available to assist you through my on line decorating service. If item is purchased through www.lovethedecor.com, service is free.

Can you stand more on the Master Bedroom?

Thought I would show you a few more areas I have finally finished in our Master Bedroom Makeover. You can see the makeover here.  I think it is all finally done and we are so happy with the results.

Please please ignore the ghastly blue carpet ( I do). Do you recognize the stool above? You can see that makeover here

Hubby got a TV for his birthday so I had to move a few things around. I think it's working (minus a few cords yet to hide). We are enjoy our new "nest". It has shaped up quite nicely

This is a close up of this darling pillow. It was made by my friend Karen at Elise Eleanor Designs

Karen is a very talented lady who does the most elegant, beautiful pillows. She has an etsy shop where she sells them, but she also does custom pillows too. She designed some for a client of mine and they are beautiful!! If you are looking for pillows and don't just want ordinary, go see

Karen for pillows that are truly extraordinary, one of a kind and beautiful!

Have a great weekend!

A great find

Found this great buy at the JC Penney outlet. It was originally just over $200.00 (which I would never pay)
and I got it for $59.99 plus free shipping. It is exactly like the one I've seen in the pottery barn catalog but for way less. 
I had been looking for something different to hang towels on in our master bath instead of just the standard towel bars and this has proven to be perfect!
Here is what I did with it:

I am linking this to : 
 

Baby time and a list

I spent all last week out of town taking care of this sweet little guy. What a wonderful week it was for this grandma. Ezra's mommy returned to work after almost 3 months on maternity leave. It was a tearful Monday morning for Tiffany but got a bit better as the week went on. Ezra and I had some great bonding time. He's such an easy baby, so sweet and smiley. At the end of the week they came home with me and enjoyed time with the rest of the family. We decided to take Ezra to the water park. He liked the water and all of the activity but I think we wore him out.

I am overwhelmed with joy and thought it appropriate to list some of the things I am grateful for this week:
1. That my daughter and son-in-law trust me with their most precious possession. (Ezra)


2. For a hubby that allows me the freedom to go and be a help to the "kids" even if he has to eat frozen burritos while I cook great meals for them


3. For children who are making their way in the world, making their dad and I proud


4. For the flexibility of having my own business so I am free to help when needed


5. For our Pastor who preaches the truth of the Word of God and challenges us to grow


6. For another daughter who donated her hard earned money without being asked to support a mission trip. (this does a mommy heart proud )


7. Gilmore Girl videos cuz they make me laugh hysterically.


8. For my hubby who gets me up every morning at 5:30 am to go to the gym. (I hate it, but I know it's good for me)


9. For all the fresh fruit available this time of year. Gotta love the fresh raspberries : )


10. For the hot summer days that beg me to bask in the sun with a great book.


Hope you can think of some things you are grateful for this day too. Have a great week!

Shower Curtain Makeover

With all of the making over of the master bedroom, the Master bath looked a bit boring. Since the master had black as a new main color I felt the bath needed black as well. I started with the boring black shower curtain above and then got out the fabric left from my stool redo to come up with this:

Not the best photo a bit blurry, but you get the idea!

After the shower curtain was done the window looked lonely so I did this:

 Now the Master bedroom and the Master bath are coordinated 

In case you are wondering, the shower curtain was from Lowe's(Allen and roth), the fabric is a waverly fabric from Joanne's fabrics, and paint color is LaFonda wild west  Valspar paint from Lowe's.

Linking up to  a few parties

Fabric FunThursday at Cheap Chic Home

The Dish: Summer Reading

It's time once again for the "Dishing it Party " over at Amanda's

She started this party as a way for bloggers to not only share a little bit about themselves, but to also make an effort to get to know some of the other wonderful people out there in Blogland. New bloggers and seasoned pros are all welcome! The topic this month is: Summer reading
I love to read! I can easily get caught up in a book or a series of books and let everything else go. Life is too short not to stop and enjoy yourself once in a while and there are so many books out there just waiting to be read!
Here are the Questions:

~Give us your list of top 5 picks for summer reading. ~
I don't think I could narrow it down to just 5. There are so many good books out there like:

Her Mother's Hope (Marta's Legacy). ... By Francine Rivers    Love this book cannot wait for the sequel

Chasing Fireflies: A Novel of Discovery...  By Charles Martin.  Thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking forward to reading his newest book

Any book by Karen Kingsbury will not disappoint especially the Baxter family series( there are many of these and could easily fill up your summer) They are "meaty" with spritual wisdom and life lessons

I also really have enjoyed the The Sugar Camp Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel series by Jennifer Chiaverini

Just read one by Rebbeca Wells called: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder Interesting title for an enjoyable book

Another of my all time favorite series has been:An Untamed Land (Red River of the North #1) by Lauraine Snelling She is another author whose writing I really enjoy.

~What genre of literature makes you want to pick up a book and read (biographies, chick lit, Christian fiction,  historical fiction, etc.)?  Although I am partial to Christian fiction, I do enjoy reading off of the NYT bestsellers list as well

~What are your favorite magazines? ~ I have always loved Better Homes and Gardens aand any of their special decorating publications, Country Living, House Beautiful, Architechtural Digest, and any other decorating magazine I can get my hands on.

~How do you make time to escape into a good book?~ I just do it. If I try to wait until "this or that" is done I would never have reading time. I love sitting out by our waterfall to read in the summer. (It's a great way to work on my tan too : )

~What's your favorite place to get your books?~ We are blessed to have a wonderful church library that I use often. My dear friend Lori buys books like I buy Lattes (many and often) so she is my favorite resource and Amazon is always a great resource too.

~What's next on your "to-read" list?
Right now I am reading Sarah's Key...by Tatiana De Rosnay. I have not read this Author before but so far so good. I also have a huge stack of others to get through before summer is done : )
HAPPY READING!

Dresser Makeover

As you know I recently redecorated my bedroom.  I promised a "how too" on the dresser makeover so here goes.

This is the best "before" I could find (ignore the stuff/junk on top)
 It really doesn't show how dinged up and gashed the dresser was in places. It does show however, the crooked drawers and how very eighties it is.

I did not want to spend money on a new dresser. This was a budget room makeover after all, so out came my favorite products:

Yes that is spray paint and yes I spray painted a furniture piece

So, first I removed all the drawers and hauled the whole thing outside.

Next I removed all of the hardware (good riddance eighties metal drawer pulls)

Next hubby reinforced all of the drawers that were sagging.

I got out the handy dandy Deglosser  and followed the instructions wiping the product on in a circular motion all over the dresser. I love this product! It eliminates the need for major sanding on most finishes. It creates a tacky surface so the new paint will stick. I had to repeat the rub down process twice to get the 

surface to a "tacky" state. When that was done, out came the spray paint. It took about two and 1/2 cans to cover the entire dresser. Once dry, I took a sanding block and lightly distressed the edges, added some new hardware and ended up with this, the finished product.

I am linking up to the following parties:

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A Deal on Area Rugs and Free Shipping!

CSN stores is having a great deal on all of their area rugs and outdoor rugs this weekend through July 12th only. Thought I would share this info with you since I  posted a rug buying guide recently. They have the best selection of both indoor and outdoor rugs of anyone I have seen. They have novelty rugs and sophisticated rugs too. Now that you are in the know you can go shopping : )  Hurry over now while the selection is great. The shipping is free!

Area Rugs Info

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July Weekend. Ours was quiet but enjoyable.

A few months ago I won this great area rug in a CSN stores giveaway. Although not my particular style it works perfectly in my daughter Kaitlyn's room. I love area rugs and the way they can add color and "anchor" a room. Often we can decide to purchase one, but have no idea what size or shape we need for our room. So here are a few things I have learned about how to purchase an area rug.

Take the measurements of your room as well as the area of the floor space that you want covered. Masking tape can be used to mark off a few options to help visualize the size that will work the best for your room. You may choose to have a few options in measurements to have a wider range of rug sizes to choose from. You never want the rug to over power the room by being too large and you don't want it to seem an after thought by purchasing one too small for the space. The most common sizes are 2’x3’, 4’x6’, 5’x8’, 6’x9’, 8’x10’ and up. Shapes are rectangle, round, square, oval, octagon or runners.  Scatter rugs are typically 2' x 3' or 2' x 4' and are used in bathrooms and kitchens as well as some smaller entryways. Runners are long, narrow rugs that are perfect for hallways and areas such as foyers and kitchens where you want to define traffic flow. 3' x 5' or 4' x 6' rugs can define nooks or other special areas. Room-size, rugs are most often found in 5' x 8' or 6' x 9' sizes and are perfect for general decorating purposes. Use in dens, living rooms, and family rooms to provide style or comfort and warmth to the room.

If you want a large area rug in your living room, you'll want to make sure that all of the furniture that you are using on the rug is completely on the rug. You don't want to have your sofa half on and half off the rug. The rug should be large enough to cover the entire area. If you do not have a rug large enough to cover the furniture area, then it is best not to put the furniture on the rug at all. Instead, choose a smaller rug and place the rug in the center arranging the furniture around the edges of it. If you are choosing a rug to go under a dining table be sure that the chairs fit on the rug not half on and half off. Make sure that even when extending the chairs to sit in them, they stay on the rug.

The next dilemma is often in choosing a print, pattern, or style. First, decide on the colors you are looking for. Often you can do this by using a pillow or other existing pattern in your room and matching the color scheme. If your room is already filled with lots of texture and pattern you might consider a solid color rug. If your furniture, sofa, drapes, etc is plain, then a printed rug is best.  Do not be afraid however to mix patterns and prints as well as textures. While shopping, don't be afraid to have the salesperson lay the rug out on the floor for you to see. Many times they are hung on racks and they will look different when laying out on the floor. Many stores will let you "check out" the rug to take home to try before you buy. This is always a good idea. Sometimes store lighting can change the appearance of the rug and how it will look in your own room's lighting. Don't be afraid to try something other than a rectangle. Rounds and ovals can be great in a room where a conversation grouping is the purpose. There is vast variety of prints, patterns, fabrics, and styles in area rug choices today. Have fun choosing and try not to be overwhelmed in the search. The bottom line is this, You have to live in your room so choose what you like and feel you can live with. 
I know that I have only skimmed the surface on this very broad topic so I welcome your questions.